Mike Tyson: 20 of His Most Famous and Infamous Quotes

Mike Tyson: 20 of His Most Famous and Infamous Quotes

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Mike Tyson was as famous for his antics in the ring as he was outside of it. His rants were legendary and coupled with his “me against the world” persona—one never knew which Tyson was going to show up.

Tyson, the self-proclaimed baddest dude on the planet has lived a colourful life to say the least, from being the youngest heavyweight champion in the world to his conviction for rape, and everything in between and after that has been enough to make even the most notorious of pugilists look like saints.

20. Tyson on Sarah Palin

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“Glen Rice is a wonderful man. He’s a wonderful guy,” Tyson said, “But you want her to be with somebody like [Dennis] Rodman getting up in there. Pushing her guts up in the back of her head!”

What can I say? Ex-con and former notorious hell raiser—former heavyweight champion and current Hall of Famer—he’s a family man to boot.

Tyson’s back.

19. Tyson the Literati

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"These books ain't window dressing. I think Machiavelli's the most sophisticated writer outside of Shakespeare. Way ahead of his time. Such a manipulative person. Everything he accomplished he did by kissin' ass."

Tyson might come across as an unlettered buffoon sometimes, but make no mistake about his intellectual prowess—he’s well versed in the writings of the aforementioned as well as the writings of Francis Scott KeyFitzgerald,ErnestMillerHemingway, Alexander SergeyevichPushkinandLev NikolayevichTolstoybut to name a few.

18. Tyson the Grim-Reaper

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“I just have this thing inside me that wants to eat and conquer. Maybe it's egotistical, but I have it in me. I don't want to be a tycoon. I just want to conquer people and their souls."

Millionaire status was never foremost on Tyson’s mind—he’d rather vanquish his foes and take them to the dark side. As if?

17. Tyson the PPV Magnate

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"It's interesting that you put me in the league with those illustrious fighters [Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson], but I've proved since my career I've surpassed them as far my popularity. I'm the biggest fighter in the history of the sport. If you don't believe it, check the cash register."

There’s no doubt that at the height of his boxing fame Tyson’s name was synonymous with Franklin faces—“kerching.” We all know why Tyson always took that money to the bank? It was the expectancy of the unexpected—whether that was Tyson ferociously decimating an opponent or taking a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear—Tyson’s fights always made for great viewing.

“I'm the biggest fighter in the history of the sport.” I’ll second that.

16. Tyson’s Swansong

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“I'm sorry I let everybody down, I'm fighting just to pay my bills. I don't have the stomach for this anymore... I don't have the desire for it. I feel bad for the people... I wish they could get their money back.”

Tyson made this comment after his loss to Kevin McBride.

That would be the last time Tyson would set foot into a four-squared ring as a prize-fighter. It must’ve been quite humbling coming from a man who was known worldwide as the “baddest dude on the planet.”

15. Tyson on His Mental State

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Reporter: “They determined that you were suffering from depression, low self-esteem, and that you had problems with anger management. How have you tried to address those problems?”

Tyson: “That’s all they said was wrong with me?”

In regards to Tyson’s state of mind, I assume he thought that there were far more pressing issues at hand, other than the aforementioned diagnosis.

14. Tyson the Libertine

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“It’s no doubt I am going to win this fight and I feel confident about winning this fight. I normally don’t do interviews with women unless I fornicate with them. So you shouldn’t talk anymore… Unless you want to, you know.”

Whilst being interviewed by a female reporter, Tyson’s demeanor switched from the polite to the downright lubricious.

13. Tyson Dissecting His Opponents

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"I try to catch them right on the tip of his nose because I try to punch the bone into the brain."

It seems as if Tyson could’ve been best suited as a brain surgeon.

12. Tyson’s Realm Was Discombobulatingly Devastating

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“My power is discombobulatingly devastating. I could feel his muscle tissues collapse under my force. It's ludicrous these mortals even attempt to enter my realm.”

The realm of Tyson was never for the faint of heart unless you’re immortal, and neither was his discombobulatingly solecism.

11. Tyson: Cold-Hearted

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“When I fight someone, I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him."

8. Tyson on Fighting Razor Ruddock

Luckily Ruddock is alive and well, and living somewhere in Canada I presume.

7. Tyson on Fighting Tyrell Biggs

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"I was hittin' him with body punches and I hurt him. Actually he was cryin' in there, makin' woman gestures like," ………………………….."I can't...define it, but I knew he was breakin' down soon"

Tyson wanted to humiliate Biggs if solely for the fact that Biggs had won gold in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. So after the beat down, Tyson sought to further humiliate him in the post-fight interview with Larry Merchant.

6. Tyson’s Celebrity Bashing

"I love to hit people. I love to. Most celebrities are afraid someone's going to attack them. I want someone to attack me. No weapons. Just me and him. I like to beat men and beat them bad."

Regardless of Tyson’s celebrity status I’d be willing to put my money where my mouth is, and say that Tyson would throw down with anyone bar-none.

5. Tyson: Prison Inmate No. 922335

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“One of my friends once saw another guy's (criminal) record and said, 'Look, this guy is a born troublemaker, just a loser.' I had to tell him, 'No, that's my record—and it doesn't include my juvenile history.”

A brief history of the life and crimes of one Mr. Michael Gerard Tyson.

4. Tyson on His Loss to Lennox Lewis

That comment was both funny and emotional but most people knew that he meant oblivion.

Remember the shot of Tyson wiping blood off Lewis’s cheek? That was heart wrenching stuff, and they said he was an animal.

3. Don’t Mess with Tyson’s Pigeons

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"One morning I woke up and found my favorite pigeon, Julius, had died. I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honor him. I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher. I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand - he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard."

Tyson’s love of pigeons is well-documented—his first fight was as a result of an older boy snapping the head of one of his pigeons.

2. Tyson Ranting About Lennox Lewis

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“I was gonna rip his heart out. I’m the best ever. I’m the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. No one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! He’s no Alexander! I’m Alexander! I’m the best ever. I’m Sonny Liston. I’m Jack Dempsey. There’s never been anyone like me. I’m from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I’m the ferocious. I want his heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!”

This was Tyson at his best—if anyone could sell a fight he could, and he didn’t disappoint. Well! In regards to selling the fight that is.

1. Tyson on Don King

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“He told me all those white (expletive) no good they ain’t (expletive), they out to kill us all they gonna put us in the Holocaust and fry us like they do the Jews, we gotta fight these (expletive). Oh! He told me some good (expletive)..........................And I started believing that (expletive) they hate us, you know, I played into that stuff.”

King was once the supreme overlord of the realm of boxing—everything he touched turned to gold. But in regards to the fighters he promoted and managed—everyone he touched turned to (expletive). Tyson was just one of many fighters that fell under the spell of the charismatic silver-tongued and silver-haired promoter.

The above quote is enough to surmise that King was a master rhetorician.

Tyson

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It’s safe to say that at age 45, Tyson has miraculously turned over a new leaf—from the tyrannical to the sublime.